Citizen Kane

So needless to say, my expectations of Citizen Kane were pretty damn high. I mean this is supposed to be the best movie of all time, a crowning achievement in the world of cinema, and I was really hoping that it wasn’t going to be one of those over hyped situation when your friend makes you watch there favorite movie and then it’s only subpar. Well not to over hype, but it was pretty damn fantastic.

So basically, Citizen Kaneis about life of Charles Foster Kane (played by Orson Welles), and a journalist’s attempt to discover the meaning of his last words “Rosebud”. In doing so, we see flashbacks of Kane’s life as he transforms from a wildly successful newspaper man to a recluse in a massive home.

Apparently, Citizen Kane was pretty blatantly based off of the life of William Hearst, a newspaper magnate of the time. And Heart did not appreciate the comparison. He was so furious that he did not print a single word about the film in any of his newspapers and even forbade some movie theaters from showing the film. Hearst attempted to have the movie completed destroyed before it could be seen. Unfortunately all the stink he was causing about the film, just drew more attention to Citizen Kane and it’s “libelous” depiction of Hearst.

I didn’t real know a lot about Orson Welles. I mean I knew about the whole “War of the Worlds” thing, but that was about it. And then here he comes, with his first debut as a director and casually makes the best movie of all time. I also didn’t know that he stared in the film, and didn’t realize how attractive he was.

I’m just saying, he makes a mighty fine 25 year old.

And then it’s sad because he just gets continually older and older, and less and less attractive. And then his life just gets progressively more depressing, and it’s just no fun, because he seems like such a fun guy!

Not only was the acting amazing in this movie, but the filming was actually phenomenal. About a quarter way through you kind of realize that this is something really special. I mean the style of shooting was completely revolutionary for the time. All the shots were filmed in complete focus, and just the composition is actually amazing. Each shot just has such a purpose, and you can tell that thought was put into every angle and every light, and it makes such a huge difference. I mean, this movie is actually a work of art. I would say that I’m over hyping, but I really don’t think I am!

I mean there is a reason this movie is wildly considered as the best movie of all time. Even though it didn’t really make much money at the time (probably because Hearst had it shut the hell down) it is truly a wonderful movie. And you know, I’m pretty content that Citizen Kane is rated as the number one movie off all time by the American Film Institute.